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As we discussed in our last posting, we had just left Maebell Coakleys with all our baskets and were heading into Charleston. Charleston, South Carolina is a short drive North of Savannah, Georgia and is right on the Atlantic Ocean. Charleston got its start way back in 1663 when King Charles II gave eight English Lord Proprietors all the land from Virginia to Florida. However, it wasn’t until April, 1670 that the ship CAROLINA anchored in what would become Charleston Harbor. The colonists have arrived and ten years later, settlers would move to and settle what would become Charles Towne, the oldest English city south of Virginia. During the American Revolutionary War Charles Towne was the fourth largest municipality in the colonies and the richest on a per capita basis. The revolution led to the birth of the State of South Carolina with Charles Towne as its capital. In 1783, after the end of the Revolutionary War, Charles Towne was renamed Charleston. Charleston thrived with shipping and cotton during the nineteeth century. But it was in Charleston that the secession of the American South from its cousins in the North began. In 1860 the Ordinance of Secession was signed and six months later the Civil War began when troops in Charleston bombed Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. After the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Charleston was forever changed. The production of wealth withers. Left at the edge of American history, sultry, decaying, until the 1930's when concerned citizens began the first historic preservation program and Charleston was saved.

Our first stop was the farmers market held in Marion Square where we always stop when we are in Charleston to buy some really good grits. For those of you who don't know what grits are, I'll have to explain later. After leaving the market we walked down to the Battery overlooking Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter. Along the way we passed some incredibly beautiful old homes and stopped and visited with a lot of people who commented on what cute doggies we are and what was our breed. Forgetting where we were, Ruby started to tell them, until I stopped her and reminded her that Mom and Dad were standing right there. Mom and Dad told them we were Cavalier King Charles Spaniels named after the English King from which their town is named. Of course whenever we go, we always get stopped and complimented on our looks. But whenever anyone asks about us Mom and Dad always take the time to educate people on being very careful when wanting to buy a Cavalier. They will tell them if they are ever interested in buying one of us to be very diligent when talking to Cavalier breeders and question them extensively on some of the health issues we face. They also tell them to never, ever buy one of us over the Internet or a newspaper ad. They also give them the web site for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club here in the US to get more information and get a list of breeders who have agreed to abide by very specific breeding protocols.

Sorry, back to Charleston. Arriving at the Battery, we stopped for a rest and a few photos. This peaceful park offers unprecedented views of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter, while a look back across the
street promises fantastic images of beautiful Charleston mansions. Enormous oak trees provide serene shade to the park and is a great place to take a break and cool off. The park has cannons used to shell Fort Sumter in 1861, two seacoast mortars, and lots more. During the early 18th century, the park was used as the home of the gallows, where Stede Bonnet - the "gentleman pirate" - and dozens of others were hanged. That was scary but Mom said there weren't anymore pirates. Here we are with the park and one of the beautiful homes behind us.

I really like the color pink and so couldn't resist having my picture taken in front of a really pretty home along the Battery walk. I've always suggested to Ruby that we should paint our house pink while Mom and Dad are at work. Our only problem is we can never remember to buy the paint while we are out on one our late night trips. Besides, Ruby doesn't think we can get the whole house painted and get everything cleaned by the time Mom and Dad get home.

Here we are in front of the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. Built by the British as the Exchange and Customs House in 1771, American Patriots were held prisoner here during the Revolutionary War, playing a huge role in American history; and is one of the three most historically significant buildings of colonial America to include Philadelphia’s Town Hall and Boston’s Faneuil Hall.

After a quick tour of the Old Exchange, we stopped off at the Old City Market. Built in 1841, it stretches back for several blocks and features small shops, restaurants and a flea market with everything from produce to antiques. And, if you can't make it out to Miss Coakley's, you can hear the dialect of Gullah ladies as they weave and sell handmade sweetgrass baskets.

Here we are in front of St. Michael's Episcopal Church. Completed in 1761, St. Michael's Episcopal Church is the oldest church edifice in the city and one of the few city churches in America to retain its original design. It was here that George Washington worshipped during his tour of the South in 1791. The clock and ring of eight bells in St. Michael's steeple were imported in 1764. Except for short absences (during the Revolution they were returned to England as a prize of war, and during the Civil War they were burned and had to be sent to England for recasting), these bells have shared the lives of Charlestonians for over 200 years. I think all this history was getting a little boring to Ruby though. Mom and Dad had promised to take us to the beach on Sullivan Island and we were ready to go.

We were really glad to get out the ocean. We were really hot and couldn't wait to get into the water. Ruby was splashing around in the water trying to catch sea gulls and after she came out, I told her she looked really silly all wet and took this picture of her while Mom was looking for sea glass.

Excuse me! Ruby's here. I might have looked funny all wet and Sydney laughed but before she finished laughing, I snatched the camera from her paws and took this little gem. Sydney didn't laugh at me much after this.

The next day, we headed home to Virginia and a long awaited rest. I think next weekend we are headed off to somewhere in Virginia. We'll let everyone know where that might be when we get back and post our pictures. Have a happy Father's Day and we'll see you all very soon.

Well it looks and sounds like you all had a wonderful time! I quite agree that you couldn't possibly paint a whole house pink in just one day and I can only imagine the rows over who gets to hold the ladders!

Thank You so much for your wonderful "guided tour" around Charleston, fantastic, really enjoyed reading that!! Looking forwards to another guided tour soon!!

BTW you both looked great wet through and you both manage to take great of each too!! Well done!!

Cathryn Cavaliers leave pawprints in your heart and hair on everything else!!RE-LIVE YOUR CHILDHOOD THROUGH YOUR KIDS, THE TOYS ARE SO MUCH BETTER THESE DAYS!!

Loved reading about your adventures in South Carolina. Believe it or not....my brother and his family live in Mount Pleasant...and I've never been there. Guess I'll have to make the effort now after seeing those wonderful pictures. I've read several books about the southern water areas, in particular Sullivan's Island, so it was very cool to see pictures of you both there.

Can't wait for the next installment of your adventures. You two seem to go to all of the places I'd love to go to or miss with an aching heart. Does me good to see some pictures of you two enjoying them so much.

Another weekend has come and gone and we were on the road again for another adventure. And what an adventure it was because Ruby and Sydney were off for college in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Charlottesville is about 2 hours south of where we live and is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is the home of Thomas Jefferson and his home Monticello as well as the University he founded, the University of Virginia. We have a funny story about the University. When Sydney and I were looking for post secondary schools to attend, we were surfing the web and found a school with a nickname The Cavaliers. Of course, we felt we both would have lots of company with all those cavaliers running around campus by attending the University of Cavaliers, so we immediately applied. What fun it would be sitting in the stadium on a crisp Fall afternoon with thousands and thousand of other Cavaliers watching our team beat the pants off our arch enemy rival upstate kitty cat team. Only afterwards, sadly, did we realize that was only the official nickname for the University of Virginia. It seems it is a humans only school so, although we were not accepted, it still holds a special place in our hearts just for its nickname.

Anyway, Thomas Jefferson founded the university shortly after returning to Monticello after his two terms as President ended. His university opened in March 1825 but it is not the oldest school in Virginia. The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg is the oldest in Virginia and would have been the oldest in the entire US if it were not for that snooty Harvard. Oh, well, at least we have Jamestown. Anyway, Jefferson had always wanted to start a University based on science and reasoning, instead of theology and religion. He imagined what the perfect University would look like. He called his idea an academic village and started drawing plans for the buildings that a University needed. His idea was to have a central building for the library modeled after the Parthenon in Rome, which he would call the Rotunda The Rotunda would over look a central Lawn and a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains at the other end.

Here is Sydney resting in the grass in front of the Rotunda. This being June, and right after graduation, there were lots of weddings going on and there were brides everywhere having their picture taken in front of the Rotunda. Of course, they all wanted to take Sydney and I home, but we like living and traveling with Mom and Dad, so we respectfully declined.

Of course what is a picture of Sydney without a picture of me.

And both of us together. We are pretty much inseparable.

On either side of the Rotunda, the University would have houses for the teachers and rooms for the students, all connected to one another. Jefferson built ten houses that he called pavilions. Teachers taught classes downstairs and lived upstairs. The pavilions and rooms opened out to a grassy yard called the Lawn.

Here is Sydney and I with some of the pavilions behind us. We could have been very comfortable in one of these rooms. However, notice I am also giving Sydney one of my looks. She had that look in her eye she gets whenever she sees a squirrel nearby and is about to give chase. She makes me nervous when she gets this look outdoors. I was afraid Dad was going to have to chase her down. which would not look very good in such a proper place.

In between some of the one-story student houses are professors homes. They are connected to the students rooms. I am not sure Sydney and I would like to live next door to our professors. We like to party way too much and our professor would always be pounding on the walls and screaming, Keep that barking down over there, or I will flunk you for sure. Here is Sydney and I in front of one of the Professors homes on the Lawn. A lot bigger and a lot nicer than the students rooms but I guess you rate a little higher when you are the teacher.

Alas, after a short visit, our visit to the University of Virginia Cavaliers was over and it was time to head off to see Thomas Jeffersons home Monticello.

Sydney and I took one long last view of the Lawn, and thought of what life could have been like had this really been a University of Cavaliers. All those Cavaliers, all that squirrel chasing, all those trees, all those spots to mark. Oh well, our search for higher education will continue. Tell you more soon.